The Dublin Lockout cartoons of Ernest Kavanagh

James Curry will discuss the hard hitting labour, nationalist and suffrage illustrations by Ernest Kavanagh, an important yet little-known cartoonist who was killed in the 1916 Easter Rising.

Prior to his death on the front steps of Dublin's Liberty Hall during the Easter Rising, Ernest Kavanagh, an employee of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, had established himself as a political cartoonist. Using the initials 'E.K.', he regularly contributed illustrations to Irish labour, nationalist and suffrage newspapers during the course of the previous four years.

These cartoons saw him champion the rights of Ireland's working class, depict William Martin Murphy and the Dublin Metropolitan Police as murderous monsters during the 1913 Dublin Lockout, attack John Redmond for his recruitment of Irish soldiers following the outbreak of World War One, and lend his support to the Irish suffragette movement in their effort to secure the vote for the women of Ireland.

This collection of original Kavanagh cartoons provides us with a fascinating pictorial record of an Ireland filled with protest and social unrest during the Dublin Lockout, First World War, and lead-up to the 1916 Easter Rising.

James Curry is a native of Dublin and has graduated with B.A. and M. Phil history degrees from Trinity College.

Admission Free. All welcome. No booking required.

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